Discord has released a client update with significant improvements for Linux users, including better video encoding and fixes for common issues. The changes, detailed in an engineering blog post on December 8, 2025, aim to boost performance on platforms like the Steam Deck. These enhancements come alongside broader fixes and optimizations across the app.
On December 8, 2025, Discord's development team published an engineering blog post outlining a new client update focused on reliability and performance. For Linux users, the update resolves a longstanding issue where clients displayed two titlebars, improving the user interface. It also introduces hardware-accelerated video encoding for AMD graphics cards on Linux via VAAPI, delivering nearly twice the video quality while using fewer resources.
Steam Deck owners benefit particularly from faster Go Live functionality, enabled by zero-copy encoding from Gamescope. This allows smoother sharing of gameplay with friends without excessive strain on the device. The update upgrades the desktop version to Electron 37, enhancing overall stability.
Beyond Linux-specific changes, Discord refactored its media upload client with retry logic written in Rust, supporting file upload resumption for large files. This results in a 15% overall latency reduction, with mobile seeing greater gains: 21% faster on iOS and 10% on Android. The desktop user settings received a redesign to improve navigation and findability, with the team inviting feedback on the changes.
Additionally, CDN configuration updates have slashed video embed startup times. The P90 latency dropped 54% from 600ms to 275ms, and P95 improved 47% from 1,250ms to 658ms. These fixes eliminate cases where videos took up to 40 seconds to load, ensuring consistent and speedy playback.
The update underscores Discord's ongoing commitment to Linux support, a platform popular among gamers using tools like the Steam Deck.